Formed in 1998, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the duo of Emily Haines (vocal, synthesizer, guitar) and James Shaw (guitar, synthesizer) were joined in 2001 by Joshua Winstead (bass, synthesizer) and Joules Scott-Key (drums). Becoming the band named Metric, they have become one of the flag bearers of Canadian New Wave/Indie Pop in the 2000s. Along with kindred sonic spirits such as The Dears (“Lost in the Plot”), The Hidden Cameras (“Ban Marriage”), Hot Hot Heat (“Middle of Nowhere”), The New Pornographers (“Letter from an Occupant”), and Stars (“Ageless Beauty”), to name a few, the ebullient Metric made the decade certainly interesting for fans of Canadian New Wave music.
To date, the quartet has released six full-length studio albums to their band’s credit, from 2003’s Old World Underground, Where Are You? to the newly released Pagans in Vegas. A slightly sweet and subtly sour blend of New Wave’s sensibility, Indie Pop’s credibility, Punk’s angularity, and Pop’s accessibility best sums up Metric’s music. This is the formula that unifies all of Metric’s albums, epitomized respectively by the debut’s single “Combat Baby,” whose guitar riff may remind the initiated listener of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl;” the steely bass–led “Too Little Too Late,” from 2005’s Live It Out; the breezy Synthpop title track of 2007’s Grow Up and Blow Away; the Kraftwerkian clang of “Twilight Galaxy,” from 2009’s Fantasies; the very New Wave “Breathing Underwater,” of 2012’s Synthetica; and the enjoyable silent tribute mode of “For Kicks,” from the new album, Pagans in Vegas.
Released on September 18, 2015, Pagans in Vegas is Metric’s sixth album. It is simply a continuation of the band’s brand of synthesizer-oriented, bass-driven, and guitar-spiked music that Haines’ sweet, soaring, and powerful soprano voice effectively personifies and, with the pulsating drum beats, carries onto the dance floor. It opens with “Lie, Lie, Lie,” which initially exudes the tribal Gothic vibe of The Creatures (“Standing There”) and then shines like the tainted love of Soft Cell. Following next is the steady synth beat of “Fortunes,” harking to the sonic sentiments of “Gimme Sympathy,” from Fantasies, Metric’s fourth album. This Synthpop excursion continues on in the ’80s video arcade game aural retrospection of “The Shade” and the Disco sound of “Celebrate,” both of which are worth a thousand glitters and countless mirrorball reflections on the dance floor.
With “Cascades” and “For Kicks,” Metric members seem to be channeling their classic New Wave influences. If one thinks in terms of Pet Shops Boys (“West End Girls”) and Depeche Mode (“Enjoy the Silence”), then one connects the dots. “Too Bad, So Sad,” on the other hand, is smoking with the jaunts and taunts of P!nk’s contemporary Pop “So what?” If it could cause a sway, then it is worth the play.
The New Romantic delicacy “Other Side” is Guitarist Shaw’s moment, for he takes over the microphone to sing lead vocals while Haines complements him in the catchy choruses. Then the downtempo monotony of “Blind Valentine” changes the mood, in which Haines sings effectively in deadpan mode. The ensuing “The Governess” rides in the same Slow Jam tendencies, with subtle shades of Alanis Morissette’s jagged little voice; very befitting, as the album draws to its close. Finally, Metric wraps up Pagans in Vegas brilliantly with “The Face,” a two-part, allegro-andante instrumental rendered in Synthpop style, which may recall The Human League’s The League Unlimited Orchestra.
Of the Canadian bands that emerged in the previous decade and whose music lays on the New Wave continuum, Metric proves to be among those located in the middle of the spectrum. If the likes of Arcade Fire is rocking in the rough edges of the left side and artists such as Lights swaying in the softest fringes of the right, then Metric is frolicking in the middle, basking among the pioneers of the genre. Pagans in Vegas exhibits this symmetrical predilection once again. CrypticRock gives this album 4 out of 5 stars.
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